U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the Supreme Court’s decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn Roe v. Wade June 24, 2022 in Cross Hall at the White House in Washington, DC. / Alex Wong/Getty Images
Denver Newsroom, Jun 24, 2022 / 13:55 pm (CNA).
In a Friday press conference, U.S. President Joe Biden called on Congress to codify abortion access into federal law, following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade that morning. The court’s decision returned the question of abortion policy to the states, which Biden labeled a “tragic error.”
He also said he had that day directed the Department of Health and Human Services to make abortion pills more widely available, and that he would do “everything in my power” to protect women traveling to obtain abortions.
“It’s a sad day for the court and for the country,” Biden, the nation’s second Catholic president, said June 24.
Calling abortion an “intensely personal decision,” Biden went on to lament that the decision had taken away women’s “right to choose” and the “power to control their own destiny.” He claimed that with Roe gone, the “life and health” of women in the United States is now “at risk.”
Biden has repeatedly expressed support for Roe v. Wade — which legalized abortion nationwide in 1973 — despite the teaching of his Catholic faith that abortion is a “grave evil.”
“I believe Roe v. Wade was the correct decision,” Biden stated, claiming that Roe represented a “broad national consensus” relating to the “fundamental right to privacy” that “most Americans of faith…found acceptable.”
This is despite evidence suggesting that more than 60% of all Americans disagreed with the central holding of Roe v. Wade, according to a January Knights of Columbus/Marist Poll survey.
“This decision is the culmination of a deliberate effort over decades to upset the balance of our law,” Biden continued, claiming that “the court has done what it has never done before, expressly take away a constitutional right that is so fundamental to so many Americans and had already been recognized. The court’s decision to do so will have real and immediate consequences.”
“It’s a realization of an extreme ideology and a tragic error by the Supreme Court, in my view.”
The only way to “secure a women’s right to choose,” Biden said, is for Congress to restore Roe as federal law, adding that “executive action can’t do that.” He urged the election of pro-choice legislators in the fall midterm elections.
Biden stated that he intends to provide aid to women living in pro-life states who want to travel to pro-abortion states. “If any state or local official, high or low, tries to interfere with a woman’s exercising her basic right to travel, I will do everything in my power to fight that deeply un-American attack,” Biden said.
The president also said he had directed the Department of Health and Human Services to “take steps” to ensure that mifepristone, the first drug in medical abortion regimen, is “available to the fullest extent possible.” Abortion supporters have pointed to medical abortions — which have been linked to numerous health risks — as a kind of workaround or backup plan for women to access abortion as states restrict abortion. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s most recent Abortion Surveillance report, for the year 2019, “early medical abortions” made up 42.3% of abortions that year.
“I call on everyone no matter how deeply they care about this decision to keep all protests peaceful. Peaceful. Peaceful. Peaceful. No intimidation. Violence is never acceptable. Threats and intimidation are not speech. We must stand against violence in any form regardless of your rationale,” Biden said Friday.
Biden concluded by claiming that the decision to overturn Roe had “made the United States an outlier among developed nations in the world,” despite the fact that the U.S. was previously one of only a handful of countries — including China and North Korea — that permitted elective abortions after 20 weeks’ gestation. Fourty-seven out of 50 European countries, independent states, and regions analyzed in 2014 either do not allow elective abortion or limit elective abortion to 15 weeks or earlier.
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Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey walks across the campus of St. John’s Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts, on April 9, 2024. / Credit: Screenshot of St. John’s Prep Facebook page last visited April 19, 2024
Boston, Mass., Apr 23, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).
Pro-lifers in the Archdiocese of Boston are criticizing Cardinal Seán O’Malley over two recent appearances at Catholic education events by the pro-abortion governor of Massachusetts.
Earlier this month, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat who supports legal and publicly funded abortion and who has taken steps to make abortions easier to obtain, spoke at a fundraiser for The Catholic Schools Foundation, which raises money for Catholic schools in the archdiocese and helps poor students attend.
O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, is the chairman of the board of trustees of the foundation, though he was in Rome at the time of the gala and did not attend it.
Healey also recently visited a Catholic school north of Boston, speaking to students and answering questions.
C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, called Healey’s appearances “a grave scandal.”
“Cardinal O’Malley should be ashamed of himself. Is Maura Healey an inspiring role model for Catholic students?” Doyle said.
Thomas Harvey, chairman of the Massachusetts Alliance to Stop Taxpayer Funded Abortions, called including Healey at the Catholic events “really disgraceful,” and he placed the blame on O’Malley.
“Maura Healey is a huge proponent of killing babies in the womb, in direct defiance of Catholic teaching, and yet here she is being presented to impressionable Catholic students as if she were a Catholic role model,” Harvey told the Register by text. “And the clear message being sent to Catholic students here is that killing babies in the womb is just not that big a deal.”
In June 2004, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a document called “Catholics in Public Life,” which states: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors, or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”
Terrence Donilon, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston, pointed out that Healey was not an honoree at the gala or during her earlier appearance at the Catholic school.
Since Healey is the governor of the state, Donilon said, Cardinal O’Malley has worked with her “on a number of issues important to Catholics and the wider community,” including public funding for the archdiocese’s charitable work providing “basic needs assistance, job training, child care services, and immigration and refugee assistance to thousands of residents,” as well as building “badly needed affordable housing” and trying “to stem gun violence.”
“At the same time, the cardinal has been a leader in the pro-life movement for over 50 years and his commitment in being a staunch promoter of life is well known and unwavering,” Donilon said.
O’Malley, 79, a Capuchin Franciscan, has frequently attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C., and has spoken at pro-life rallies. Last week, The Boston Globe published a column by O’Malley urging state legislators to oppose a bill that would legalize physician-assisted suicide.
But critics such as Doyle claim that O’Malley during his time as archbishop has seemed to mix easily and uncritically with abortion-supporting Catholic politicians, including the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (whose funeral Mass he celebrated), the late Boston mayor Thomas Menino, former Boston mayor Marty Walsh, and the current governor, Healey, with whom he co-authored a column in The Boston Globe in September 2017 on immigration.
Donilon, O’Malley’s spokesman, addressing Healey’s participation in The Catholic Schools Foundation gala last week, said that “the governor has been a vocal supporter of Catholic education. … Our Catholic schools save cities and towns hundreds of millions of dollars in education costs. Our families benefit from an outstanding education based in an excellent faith-based environment.”
Gov. Maura Healey speaks to students at St. John’s Prep on April 9, 2024. Credit: Screenshot of St. John’s Prep Facebook page last visited on April 9, 2024.
Who is Maura Healey?
Healey, 53, was elected Massachusetts attorney general in 2014 with an endorsement from Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund. She served two terms as attorney general before being elected governor of Massachusetts in November 2022.
As an elected official, Healey has frequently supported public policies that clash with Catholic teachings on life and sexuality.
She has verbally attacked pro-life pregnancy centers, steered state government money to private abortion funds, and, in April 2023, quietly arranged for the flagship campus of the state-run University of Massachusetts to purchase 15,000 doses of abortion pills.
Healey’s administration in June 2023 successfully proposed a curriculum framework for public schools that calls for teaching between third and fifth grades “the differences between biological sex and gender identity” and “how one’s outward behavior and appearance does not define one’s gender identity or sexual orientation.”
Healey appeared Thursday, April 11, at the annual gala of The Catholic Schools Foundation at a hotel in Boston.
“So I didn’t have the benefit of going to Catholic school,” Healey said, according to a text of her remarks provided by a spokesman. “My mom went to Catholic school, and my nephew goes to Catholic school; we have priest[s] at the dinner table every Sunday. But I do know, both having been your attorney general and now as your governor, what your work means. And I can see that experience firsthand.”
She also said she wants to find ways “to partner” with the foundation “in the important work that you [are] doing.”
“And I want you to know that, as governor, I value our vibrant mix of education, our public schools, our private schools, and our religious schools,” Healey said.
Two days earlier, on Tuesday, April 9, Healey spent about 50 minutes with a group of 120 students at St. John’s Preparatory High School, a Catholic boys’ school founded by the Xaverian Brothers in Danvers, about 18 miles northeast of Boston, according to a description of the visit published on the school’s website. The school is in the Archdiocese of Boston, though it is not run by the archdiocese.
Healey had never visited the school before, “but it was quickly clear her personal values are closely aligned with those of the Xaverian Brothers,” the school’s write-up states.
Healey emphasized leadership and empathy during her remarks. The governor also told the students that while she believes in civil discourse, “there are some basic values that have kept our society intact,” and she told students they should “call out hate when you see it.”
“We can have differences of opinion on things,” Healey said, according to the school’s write-up, “but, to me, equality has got to abide. Respect for the dignity and worth of each person is something I call on people to really adhere to.”
Robert Joyce, a lawyer and member of the board of the Pro-Life Legal Defense Fund, which provides legal representation for pro-lifers, said that St. John’s Prep last fall turned down an offer he made to provide a pro-life assembly for students featuring a canon lawyer, a physician, and a vocations director. (The head of school, Edward Hardiman, did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.)
Joyce called Healey’s recent appearances at the gala and at the school “abominations for Catholic education.”
“They send the clear message to Catholic students and parents that critical, fundamental precepts of the Catholic faith are not all that important. In simple terms, they declare that protection of innocent unborn life and the defense of traditional marriage are negotiable with these Catholic educators,” Joyce indicated.
Healey is also a featured speaker at the annual Spring Celebration of Catholic Charities Boston scheduled for Wednesday, May 29, at the Boston Harbor Hotel in Boston. O’Malley is expected to receive an award at the event for his work in welcoming immigrants.
Healey and the Catholic Church
Healey does not often talk about religion in public, but she occasionally identifies herself as a Catholic.
In October 2018, when she was state attorney general, she led off a brief column in The Boston Globe with the words: “As a member of law enforcement and as a Catholic …”
In April 2022, when Healey criticized Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester for calling for a Catholic school to take down a rainbow flag, she added, according to MassLive.com: “And I speak as a Catholic …”
In October 2022, during a debate while she was running for governor, Healey used a Catholic reference while defending herself from a claim by her Republican opponent that a bill she had supported effectively legalized infanticide, as the National Catholic Register subsequently reported. “You know, my mom goes to Mass every morning,” Healey said.
Healey is widely thought of as a potential candidate for other offices. She would be an obvious Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts if either of the two incumbents (both in their 70s) leaves office.
Additionally, just hours before her appearance at The Catholic Schools Foundation gala, Healey participated in an event at Northeastern University in Boston honoring former Massachusetts governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis. The moderator floated Healey as a potential future candidate for president of the United States, to applause from the audience.
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and is reprinted here on CNA with permission.
Washington D.C., Jul 5, 2023 / 15:10 pm (CNA).
The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem condemned the Israeli government and urged peace and dialogue between both sides after the Israel Defe… […]
A monastic community prays the Lord’s Prayer. / Credit: DeClausura Foundation
ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 14, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).
The DeClausura Foundation in Spain has launched a campaign to promote prayer during the liturgical season of Lent wit… […]
The concept of personal responsibilty in the area of sexual activity as an alternative to abortion never seems to penetrate Biden’s dull mind. Woman have a number of options here besides abortion. Chastity first and foremost, birth control, adoption, birth and retention of the baby. I would think that a woman with any maternal sensibilities at ALL would find abortion a completely unacceptable choice. Its very disappointing that the Pope had chosen to say NOTHING to Biden and Pelosi directly about their rabid support of infanticide during their recent meetings, especially as they make political hay with their supposed “catholic” credentials.As Democratic party hysteria in this area grows to acceptance of violent extremes including attacks on churches and pro-life centers, lets see if the Pope has a reality check, or remains in denial.
Will have to legislate. Alito’s masterful opinion leaves no doors open for a constitutional basis for abortion and nothing to ‘codify’ on a federal level.
Yes. The opinion was brilliantly and skillfully argued. The justices established that neither American law nor English common law provided a legal basis for abortion. Upholding the Constitution- you’d think we would all agree on that. Progressives see it as an obstacle to their agenda, much to the harm of innocent lives.
Mr. Olson:
I have a favor to ask – In the future when speaking of President Biden and referring to him as a Catholic, would you please do one or both of the following:
1) Do NOT capitalize the word Catholic.
or
2) Put it like this – ‘Catholic’.
Either one would be acceptable, both would be preferable.
It’s become increasingly imperative that the Church must now [after due warning and consultation] regarding this president, who falsely claims Catholicism and continues to pursue beyond justifiable reason, a policy to expand the death of innocent infants [as well as a host of abominations including expansion of LGBT presumed rights that override religious rights – to be excommunicated.
Laity, clerics require evidence of what the Church upholds as sacred, and permitting this reprobate to continue to viciously attack Christian doctrine, destroy the innocent gives a false impression of what we believe. It cannot stand. I pray the bishops realize this and now must act faith and courage.
Furthermore, if one really cares, out of charity, for an apostate’s repentance, and salvation, those with the authority I should think have an obligation to take those steps that Archbishop Cordileone took with Nancy Pelosi. Whether a positive response is elicited, it may in future with the knowledge of what’s at stake for their salvation made clear. It’s more an act of compassion for the sinner in danger of condemnation.
You are absolutely right Father. Sad to say this would surely be a scandal of public witness for ironic reasons. Francis would finally become public regarding concrete abortion political effects, but not on the side of life. In a given mood, he will denounce abortion, even with passion. In another mood he will prioritize his ego over the babies and go back to posturing as Francis the Merciful as he did with sacrilegious treatment of the Eucharist, his medicine for everyone heresy, including architects of mass murder. Just imagine how testy he will get with a public excommunication of one of his favorite political trophy figures. The global stage would receive the exact opposite image of Catholic truth. But it should be done anyway. Maybe even Francis would do the right thing for a change.
We won our battle of Midway. Now it’s time for a public statement for the good of humanity and the souls of the invincibly arrogant.
So is Cardinal Wilton Gregory going to deny Biden communion now, given that he has not only rejected established Church teaching on life issues, but is now passed further into heresy?
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,
Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Psalm 139:13-16 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
B iggest
I diot
D emocrats
E ver
N ominated
Top comment of the week
The concept of personal responsibilty in the area of sexual activity as an alternative to abortion never seems to penetrate Biden’s dull mind. Woman have a number of options here besides abortion. Chastity first and foremost, birth control, adoption, birth and retention of the baby. I would think that a woman with any maternal sensibilities at ALL would find abortion a completely unacceptable choice. Its very disappointing that the Pope had chosen to say NOTHING to Biden and Pelosi directly about their rabid support of infanticide during their recent meetings, especially as they make political hay with their supposed “catholic” credentials.As Democratic party hysteria in this area grows to acceptance of violent extremes including attacks on churches and pro-life centers, lets see if the Pope has a reality check, or remains in denial.
Will have to legislate. Alito’s masterful opinion leaves no doors open for a constitutional basis for abortion and nothing to ‘codify’ on a federal level.
Yes. The opinion was brilliantly and skillfully argued. The justices established that neither American law nor English common law provided a legal basis for abortion. Upholding the Constitution- you’d think we would all agree on that. Progressives see it as an obstacle to their agenda, much to the harm of innocent lives.
Mr. Olson:
I have a favor to ask – In the future when speaking of President Biden and referring to him as a Catholic, would you please do one or both of the following:
1) Do NOT capitalize the word Catholic.
or
2) Put it like this – ‘Catholic’.
Either one would be acceptable, both would be preferable.
Thank you
Good call. Otherwise, we run the risk of inadvertently participating in his charade of lies.
It’s become increasingly imperative that the Church must now [after due warning and consultation] regarding this president, who falsely claims Catholicism and continues to pursue beyond justifiable reason, a policy to expand the death of innocent infants [as well as a host of abominations including expansion of LGBT presumed rights that override religious rights – to be excommunicated.
Laity, clerics require evidence of what the Church upholds as sacred, and permitting this reprobate to continue to viciously attack Christian doctrine, destroy the innocent gives a false impression of what we believe. It cannot stand. I pray the bishops realize this and now must act faith and courage.
Furthermore, if one really cares, out of charity, for an apostate’s repentance, and salvation, those with the authority I should think have an obligation to take those steps that Archbishop Cordileone took with Nancy Pelosi. Whether a positive response is elicited, it may in future with the knowledge of what’s at stake for their salvation made clear. It’s more an act of compassion for the sinner in danger of condemnation.
You are absolutely right Father. Sad to say this would surely be a scandal of public witness for ironic reasons. Francis would finally become public regarding concrete abortion political effects, but not on the side of life. In a given mood, he will denounce abortion, even with passion. In another mood he will prioritize his ego over the babies and go back to posturing as Francis the Merciful as he did with sacrilegious treatment of the Eucharist, his medicine for everyone heresy, including architects of mass murder. Just imagine how testy he will get with a public excommunication of one of his favorite political trophy figures. The global stage would receive the exact opposite image of Catholic truth. But it should be done anyway. Maybe even Francis would do the right thing for a change.
We won our battle of Midway. Now it’s time for a public statement for the good of humanity and the souls of the invincibly arrogant.
So is Cardinal Wilton Gregory going to deny Biden communion now, given that he has not only rejected established Church teaching on life issues, but is now passed further into heresy?
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,
Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Psalm 139:13-16 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.